A New York Times investigation explores how the real estate mogul bypassed the personal sacrifice of Gold Families.

According to The Times, the wealthy businessman appeared to be “the picture of health” in 1968 at age 22, when he graduated from college. Yet, the son of a rich New York businessman managed to obtain a medical waiver for bone spurs in his heels that enabled him to avoid enlisting in the military.

Trump’s Vietnam-era history is under a spotlight because of criticism from Khizr Khan, the father of a Muslim-American soldier who was killed by a suicide bomber in Iraq. Khan said at the Democratic National Convention last week that Trump has never sacrificed for his country.

Trump responded forcefully to Khan’s comments, and he has been at war with Khan and his wife Ghazala Khan since the DNC.

Mr. Trump had received four military draft deferments while he attended the undergraduate real estate program at the University of Pennsylvania. The Times said he was eager at that point in his life to join his father’s real estate development business. But one thing stood in his way: the possibility of getting drafted to join the bloody war in Vietnam.

With college in the rearview mirror, Trump’s bone spur diagnosis allowed him to pursue his dream. The diagnosis resulted in a 1-Y medical deferment from the draft, which had pulled about 300,000 men into the war in 1968.

The Times said Trump’s public statements have been at odds with the Selective Service records. In an interview with the newspaper, Trump could not remember the doctor’s name or provide a copy of the letter the doctor provided.

Moreover, he told The Times that the bone spurs were “temporary” and “minor.” The GOP standard-bearer couldn’t recall when the calcium build-up in his heel was no longer a problem. It went away “over a period of time,” without the need for surgery.

Ultimately, his one-year temporary deferment was changed to a 4-F, a permanent medical condition.

Still, the story of how Trump avoided the Vietnam War is not unusual, said The Times. Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, as well as Vice President Joe Biden, also avoided the war.